{"id":28850,"date":"2019-08-20T18:32:33","date_gmt":"2019-08-20T10:32:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.99.co\/blog\/singapore\/?p=28850"},"modified":"2022-06-13T16:34:10","modified_gmt":"2022-06-13T08:34:10","slug":"singaporeans-its-time-we-stop-whining-about-property-prices","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.99.co\/singapore\/insider\/singaporeans-its-time-we-stop-whining-about-property-prices\/","title":{"rendered":"Singaporeans, It\u2019s Time We Stop Whining About Property Prices"},"content":{"rendered":"
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One top Singaporean gripe of buying a property on this Sunny Island set in the Sea is that housing prices are too darn expensive these days. But do their complaints really hold water? Are we as a nation of homebuyers too picky, unrealistic, or downright delusional? Or do we have a legitimate right to whine? Here 99.co\u2019s take in five silence-inducing points.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

We are too aspirational<\/h2>\n

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Gone are the days when Singaporeans would be content about buying a home and be satisfied with living in their matrimonial home their whole lives.<\/span><\/p>\n

As much as we like to see homeowners upgrade as their families grow and their financial abilities increase, it\u2019s a bit too much to take when a first-time couple homeowner gets hung up on <\/span>potential upside<\/span><\/i> when they should be paying more attention to whether the unit they\u2019re viewing is actually liveable and suits their current needs.<\/span><\/p>\n

This is essentially pretending to be an investor. <\/span>When homeowners do commit this sin, they tend to eliminate 90% of their options.<\/b><\/p>\n

And this is when attribution bias kicks in. <\/span>\u201cOh poor me! I have so few choices because property prices are so expensive, not because I\u2019m picky and have my priorities all wrong!\u201d<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

We were deluded about property in the past<\/b><\/h2>\n

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Despite <\/span>recent changes to CPF rules<\/span><\/a>, most Singaporeans are unable to accept the new reality of owning a resale flat (for instance, accepting zero value after 99 years) even if, barring it\u2019s lease, it\u2019s a perfectly suited property for them.<\/span><\/p>\n

Buyers are so anchored to <\/span>the profits made by HDBs in decades past<\/span><\/a>, that their disappointment at the government\u2019s reality check was amplified to the <\/span>n<\/span><\/i>th degree. They might not admit it but almost overnight many homebuyers relegated resale HDB flats to bastard child status, a non-option and a non-starter for them.<\/span><\/p>\n